Aeroplane.



Patented .12113111912 3 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

A. R. LASSEL.

AEROPLANE.

A'PPmoATIoN PILED'Nov. 11, 1909.

A. R. LA'SSEL. ABRQPLANE.`

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 1.1, 190g. 1,016,020. A

Patented Ja'n. 30, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'UNITED sTATEsPATENT OFFICE.

` f anensrgn.; L'AssnL, `orl WASHINGTON, nrsrarc'r loF- COLUMBIA..

AEROPLANE.

"l Specification of Letters Patent.

'yk Application led November 11, 1909. Serial Np. 527,544.

25.521wfifmetmeacenmf f Beit? known'tha t AUGUsr R.' LAssnL,

subject of. the Czar of Russia,` residing at Vashngtomin the District ofColumbia, have invented/ certain new and useful Improvements inAeroplanes, of which the followinglis a specification.

The present. inventon relates in general to aerial navigation, and moreparticularly tn ari4 airshipof.the heavier t-han air type, such; as arecommonly called aeroplanes.

Y The objectofthe invention is the provision of. vc( )mp a1'ativelysimple, light, and rigid constructionof aeroplane which embodies no vel-features of construction for producin andfor irectinr-themovements ofthe; ma-

chine masia-iight.

'The invention `further ,contemplates fan aertoplane whichl will be,completely `under thecontroL-of'the'.io erator at all times, the

stabilizing and ing elements being controlled byasingle llever which ismounted to swing about a "universal'joint With these and other objectsin view, the

invention-consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of theparts as will morefully 'appear as the description proceeds,-4 the.novel features thereof being pointed out inthe appended claims.

e For a-,full/understanding of the invention, I eference` is to bfehadto the following description andA accompanying drawings in which: v y

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an aeroplane-constructedfin accordancewith the invention. Fig. 2 is afront view 'ofthe sameportions,beingbroken away. Fig. 3

is a top planfview of the aeroplane, por-- tionsbeing'broken' away yandshown 1n section.. Fig. 4 is anenlarged side elevation Aof the mainvoperating leverg; portions being shown in section.H Fig; 5 is anenlarged detail view ofthe rea-r wheel and the shock absorbing mechanismemployed in connection with the same, portions bein-g shown in sec`tion. FigQG is a sectional view on the line 6 6 of Figi-1'. Fig. 7 is adetail perspective view of the 'outer end of one ofthe main planes, theauxiliary plane being shown in an operative position, and Fig. 8 is asimilar view with theauxiliar'y plane inan inoperative position. f l

, Corresponding and like parts are referred to. inethe. following2description and india-nd maintaining equilibrium operator.

cated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.A

Specifically describing the aeroplane illustrated on the drawings, themain frame thereof comprises a substantially vertical mast 1 having askeleton frame 2 at the upper end thereof, the saidskeleton frameconstituting the body portion of the aero plane and being covered withaiabric so as to reduce the resistance thereof to the air. The engine 4andthe seat 5 of the operator are arranged within the skeleton frame 2and the propellerl 6 is mounted at the rear of the skeleton fra-me, thevarious parts beingy preferably so disposed that the center ofresistance is in substantially the same horizontal line as the center ofscrew thrust,

and the 'center of buoyancy in substantially the same verticallinecwithl the center of,k

gravity. Projecting` laterally from opposite sides of the skeleton frameor body 2 `and hinged thereto at 7 -arefthe wings of the sustainingplanes 8. These sustaining planesmay be constructed in any suitablemanner and may be held either in alinement with each other or at anydesired dihedral angle by an suit-- able means such as the wires 9 whiclead from the wings to the mainframe.

' Projecting forwardly from the main frame of they aeroplane is an upperarm 10 and a lower arm 11 and these arms are disratenteaaan. 30,1912.- e

posed inthe central vertical plane of'the.

-machine The extremityY of the upper arm 10 is providedv with a sleeveor guide member 12 loosely receiving a longitudinal rod 13, the rear endo fwhich is connected 'to a lever let arranged adjacent the -seat 5 ofthe Any suitable means, such as av pawl and ratchet, may be utilizedfor, locking the lever 14 against movement, and a vertical plane orrudder 15 is `pivotally mounted between the forward end of theconnecting rod 13 and the forwardend of the lower arm 11 so as tofturnfreely about a vertical axis and serve` as ay means for guiding themachine either to. the right o` to the left. Intersect-ing this verticalplane 15 and arranged" vat substantially right angles thereto is astabilizing pla-ne 16, the outer edges of the said planes being con,nected by the wires or tie membersl? whlch serve to hold the planesrigidly in their proper relative position. Through the medum of thelever 14 the rod 13 canbe .shifted longitudinally so as to cause thestabillzing plane 16 to assume any desired angle `with respect to themain sustaining planes 8, thereby compensating for the con sumption offuel for the engine and thecon` sequent decrease in weight at thatportion f the machine where the said fuel may be r manner, and as shownin the present in stance, it comprises a closed frame 16a hav.- ing a Ushaped frame 4meinber 16b pivotally connected to the rear portionthereof so as to swing freely up and down, both the olosed frame 16a andthe Uv shaped frame thereto.

` y part of the stabilizing plane 16 is an endless the mast 1 by aspring 23, and thence for-v 40 member 16" having the fabric 16c appliedSecured to the rear edge of the flexible cable 18,- one section of theendless cableextending up and around a pulley or guide member 19 uponthe vertical plane 15 and then down through the inside of the verticalplane 'and around one roller of a twin pulley .'20 arranged adjacent thepivotall connection between the vertical. plane andthe lower' arm 1,1,the said section of the endless cable extending rearwardly Vfrom thetwin pulley 20-'and being connected to the lower end of a main'operatinglever 21, while the opposite section of the endlesscable extends down.-

4wardly from the stabilizing plane. 16, around the opposite roller ofthe twin pulley '20, rearwardly to a pulleyl22 connected to wardly-tothelower end ofthe main operatlever,21'. It will thus b'e obvious thatas thelower-end of the main lever 21 is moved leither toward the frontor rear of the machine-the. endless eable18 will operate to lex the rearportion of the stabilizing plane 16, sny'slack within the said endlesscable being taken u by the spring 23, and struts 24 prolootingv othabove and below the equalizing plane engage the endlesscable so as toenableJ the movements of the cable to operate readily to 'produce thedesired flexing of the stabilizing frame without any binding a'etion;

Thermain Voperating lever 21 is mounted at an intermffliate point in itslength upon a. universal d .nt and while this may be accomplished in any4desired manner, the lever is shown in the present instance as pivotr 1upenn. transverse bolt 25 carried by a ri. 26 arranged at anintermediate point in the length by a wire 27. A sleeve 28 is slippedupon vthe upper end of the lever 21 so as to rotate freely thereon, andis provided at its .upler end with a wheel 29whieh 'is designedV egasped by the-,operaton The lower .Lore-,oso

end of the sleeve 28 is connected by the bev` eled gearing 30 to a drum31 mounted upon the lever so as to turn about an axis at right members33 applied to the ring 36. From' these pulleys 33 the ends of the cableextend forwardly where they are connected to the tie wires 17 uponopposite sides of the vertical plane 15 and also to the forward edge ofthe said vertical plane. With this co11- struction, it will thus beobvious that by turning the wheel 29 the cable 32 can be controlled inAsuch a manner as to turn the vert-ical plane 15 and guide the machineeither to the right or to the left.

The invention also contemplates 'means for producing lateralequilibrilun, and for this purpose an auxiliary plane 34 i's mountedupon the outer end of each of the sustaining planes 8, the saidauxiliary planeseach normally assuming a vertical position parallel tothe line of flight, and being mounted to turn about an axis parallel tothe main plane and inclined to the line' of flight so as to have after arevolution' of 90 degrees an angle to the sustaining plane. Each ofthese auxiliary planes 3.4 1s shown' as pivotally mounted between thetwo limbs of a U shaped member-35 rigidly applied to and carried by thetip of the main plane 8, the base of the said U shaped frame 35extending below the main sustaining plane S and being covered with afabric as indicated at 36 so as to provide a downwardly projecting Wingfor producing what is termed the end slip. The upwardly projecting limbsof the U shaped frame 35 are arranged in a vertical plane which isdisposed parallel to the line of flight, and in the constructionillustrated on the drawings, the forward limb is provided at its upperend with an inwardly projecting laterall arm 35, the rear edge of theauxiliary plane 34 being pivoted directly to the rear limb of the member35, while'the forward edge of the auxiliary plane is provided'with alaterally projecting arm 37 which' is pivoted to the end of the beforementioned arm 35a of the forward limb.

This lateral arm 37 is of such a length that the fact that the arm 35awhich was previ-A ously horizontally disposed is now vertically di` osedand hence elevates the forward end .of .t e .auxiliary plane withrespect lto are secured to coil springs 40 vwhich are. preferablyarrangedbetween the upper and'y lower fabric coverings of the mainsustainmg planes, although theymaybe mounted nectedto the lWiresor.cables 41v which pass around the pulleys or guide members 42 andthrough the main sustaining planes 8 at .sub-- stantially the middleportlons thereof,`the ends ofthe said wires being secured to the mainlever' 21. It will thus be obvious that by swinging the main operatinglever 21v laterally either one'of the auxiliary planes 34 may be swungupwardly into an operative position for lifting that side\fof the`machine to produce equilibrium, the opposite auxiliary plane remainingstationary,

that by swinging the main lever 21 to the front or rear the rear edge ofthe stabilizing plane '16 can be liexed for causing the machine toascend or descend, and that by turn- 4 ing the wheel 29 and causing thesleeve'28 to rotate upon the upper end of the operating lever thevertical plane 15 may be turned so as toguide themachine either to theright or tothe left.

A wheel 43 is carried by the lower arm 11 ofthe frame at an intermediatepoint inthe length thereof, while a second wheel 44 is journaled uponPtwo pivotall'y-connected levers 45 and 46 at the junction thereof, thelever 45 having the free end thereof pivoted to*I the lower end of themast 1 While the lever 46vhas the 'free end thereof pivotally connectedto a slide 47 mounted upon avertical rod or guide 48 which has the upperend thereof secured to the seat 5 while the lower end isreceived withina Slot in the upper portion of the mast 1 and secured to the mast at thebase of the said slot. A coil spring 49 surrounds this vertical rod 48and bears yiel'dingly 'against the slide 47. The .two wheels 43 and 44are brought into use in the usual manner when. the machine is on theground, and the peculiar manner of mounting the rear wheel 44 serves toabsorb all sudden shocks and prevent injury to the machine whenalighting at the end 'of a flight. The two wheels 43 and 44 arepreferably covered with a fabric so as to reduce the resistance .thereofto the 4air when the .machine is in flight.

cally arranged rudder-an v@Lal,i horizontallyrE arranged stabilizingplane intersectingjthe, rudder and formed, with affilex'ible portion.means for turning the 'rudderf'aboutfa vertiv cal axis to guide theaeroplane -laterally, 70 means 'for swinging the rudder about-a-.horizontal axis to vary'thetangleofthe-stabiliz-- ing plane, and means Ifor-lcx'ing 'thefstabilizing plane for causing the aeroplane dto. as;y cendor descend. f p 'Eff as* 2. An 'aeroplane providedv with-,a'rudder and astabilizing plane intersecting v1the rnd-f.Y der and rigid therewith,-aportionof the 'said stabilizing plane projecting -beyondwtherud-y derand being iexible, meansforfturningthe; 80 rudder abouta verticaleaxis;to yguide-the? v aeroplane laterally, meansfor swinging-the. rudderabouta horizontal.axis-to vary the angle of the v stabilizingsplandf@and-fmeans I'Od.A f 4.'In an' aeroplane, thecconibination;'of-1a.; mainframe, sustaining planes carried b vwthe main frame,l a pairl of spaced:armsfprojecting from the main frame 'and-arrangedfina substantiallyvertical. plane, V.a xguidehnmem^ 105 ber at the end 'of'one-ofv the"arms; aj'rod' slidably .mounted within fthe` guidev member.

a Vrudder pivotally monntedzbetween ther-end'l of the rod and theopposite arm, means-for lizing plane carried` by ethe'--'I'1'L1dder'fandformed with a flexibleportion, the "angle I. of the stabilizingplane being/varied yby sliding the before mentioned rod,fandmeans forflexing the stabilizing plane." 'f 115 5.4 An aeroplane proviled .withay rudder, a stabilizing plane carried bythewrudder and formedwith alexibleiportion, alever, means actuated by the swinging of th'lever for'flexing the stabilizing'"plane,1;a `-sleeve 120 loosely mounted upon'the'levergrandfm'eansV actuated by the sleeve 4for turningthe rud.Yder. l i

6. Anaeroplane provided; with a 'rudder and a'stabilizing plane-carriedby the ruddeig 125 a portion of the stabilizing plane being tlex-i' ble,a lever mounted upon the aeroplane,` means coperating with the lever toflex the stabilizing plane, a drum mounted uponthe lever, means upon thelever for controlling 330 for flexing the projecting. -portion Iof the85 i adjusted by slidingthe-before mentioned v the drum, and a cablewound upon the drum and having an operative connection with the rudder.

7. An aeroplane provided with a rudder and a stabilizing plane carriedby the rudder, a portion of the .stabilizing plane being flexible, alever mounted upon the aeroplane, means cooperating with the lever to'-flex the stabilizing plane, a sleeve loosely mounted upon the lever, adrum mounted upon the lever and geared to the sleeve, and a cable woundupon the drum and having an operative connection with the rudder.

8. An aeroplane provided with a rudder, a lever pivotally mounted uponthe aeroplane, a sleeve slipped over one end of the lever so as torotate freely thereon, a drum carried by the lever and geared to thesleeve, and a cable wound upon the drum and having an operativeconnection with the rudder.

9. An aeroplane provided with a rudder, a lever pivotally mounted uponthe aeroplane, a sleeve rotatably mounted upon the lever, a drum carriedby the -lever and geared to the sleeve, guide members adjacent the pivotpoint of the lever, and a cable wound upon the drum and passing aroundthe said guide members and having an operative connection with therudder.

10. In an aeroplane, the combination of a main frame, sustaining planescarried by the mai frame, a pair of arms projecting from the main frame,a guide member upon .one of the arms, a rod slidably mounted within theguide member, a rudder pivotally mounted between the rod and theopposite arm, a stabilizing plane intersecting the rudder and rigidt-herewith, a lever pivot-v ally mounted upon the main frame, meanscooperating with the lever to turn the rudder about its axis, and means:for sliding the before mentioned rod within the guide lnember foradjusting the angle of the stabilizing plane with respect to thesustaining planes.

11. IIn an aeroplane, the combination of -a main frame, sustainingplanes carried by the main frame, and auxiliary balancing planes mountedto turn about an axis inclined to the line-of flight and parallel to thesustaining planes so that they are inoperative when in averticalposition but have a lifting power when swung into asubstantially horizontal position.

12. In an aeroplane, the combination of a main frame, sustaining planescarried by the main frame, a pair'of limbs projecting from each ofthe'sustaining planes, and anl auxiliary balancing plane pivotallymounted between each pair of the limbs, one-end of the balancing planebeing pivoted directly to one ofthe limbs while the ,opposite ,end

'is provided with a lateral arm which is pivoted to the other limb, thesaid lateral arm causing the auxiliary plane to assume an inoperativeposition parallel to the line of flight when swung into a verticalplane, but to have a lifting power when turned into a substantiallyhorizontal plane.

13. In an aeroplane, the combination of a main frame, a sustaining planecarried the end of the sustaining plane, the base of the said U shapedframe extending below the sustaining plane while the limbs thereofproject above the sustaining plane, means coperating with the saiddownwardly projecting base of the U shaped frame to prevent end slip,and an auxiliary balancing plane pivoted between the upwardly projectinglimbs .of the U shaped frame.

14. In an aeroplane, the combination of a main frame, sustaining planescarried by the main frame, a rudder, a stabilizing plane having aportion thereof flexible, an auxiliary balancing plane, a lever mountedupon the main frame to--turn about a universal joint, an operativeconnection between the lever and the balancing plane whereby the latteris operated when the lever is swung in one direction, an operativeconnection between the lever and the stabilizing plane for flexing thelatter when the lever is swung in a direction 'at right angles to itsprevious direction of movement, and means upon the lever forcont-rolling the rudder.

15. In an aeroplane, the combination of a main frame, sustaining planescarried by the main frame, a pair of arms projecting from the mainframe, a guide member upon one of the arms, a rod slidably mountedwithin the guide member, a rudder pivot-- ally mounted between the rodand the oppo site arm so as to=turn about a substantially vertical axis,a stabilizing plane intersecting the rudder and rigid therewith, aportion of the stabilizing plane being flexible, auxiliary balancingplanes upon the sustaining planes, a lever mounted upon the main frameto turn about a universal joint, an operative connection between thelever and the auxiliary planes for operating the latter when the leveris swung in one direct-ion, an operative connection between the leverand the stabilizing plane for flexing the latter when the lever is swungin a direction at right angles to its previous movement, and means uponthe lever for controlling the rudder.

In4 testimony whereof I hereby vaiiix my signature in presenceof twowitnesses.

AUGUST R. LASSEL. Witnesses:

Josm A. GORMAN, H. B. CoRNwAm..

`by the main frame, a U shaped fra-lne, at

